The present invention pertains to a body support pad, and more particularly to a pillow for supplying a sufficient amount of air passage to and from an infant lying thereon.
A leading cause of deaths nationally among infants from two weeks to one year of age has become known as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Medical researchers nationally have spent the past decades trying and failing to unravel the cause of the death of such a significant number of infants. The majority of the studies conducted found that the infants that are usually found dead are particularly newly born, premature and twins. However, the cause of the death of these infants is frustrating because numerous instances exist where a parent has placed a normal healthy infant on its stomach in a crib or bed to only come back a short time later to find the infant dead.
The numerous studies that have been conducted and reported have only resulted in medical personnel advising parents to not place their infants face down on a crib or bed because this position seems to increase the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. For decades, these doctors, nurses and care guidebooks have advised placing infants on their back or side in the crib or bed. However, parents have been opposed to placing the infants in this position because of an infant's preference for sleeping on their stomachs and/or the infant's tendency to vomit. Further, the parents seem to believe that the risk is not as great as opposed to making the infants unhappy and sleepless by placing them into another position.
Applicant believes that a contributing cause of the death of infants results from an infant rebreathing carbon dioxide. This occurs from the fact the infants are placed on their stomachs and may be too weak to be able to move from this lying position. Accordingly, the infants rebreath the carbon dioxide that is trapped in the loose sheets held against the infant's face.
The present invention addresses the above problem and provides a solution to this possible contributing cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. As this application was being prepared, more research is expected on the above problems, but researches and medical personnel have been unable to solve the mystery behind the sudden death of such a significant number of infants. Further, none of the references uncovered by Applicant's search recognizes or proposes solutions for the possible contributing causes of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.